Santee NWR Pine Island Unit

Santee National Wildlife Refuge – Pine Island Unit
February 28, 2015, 10:30
Last year SCAN visited the Cuddo Unit of Santee National Wildlife Refuge. This year we will visit another unit – the Pine Island Unit. This is another large unit containing a somewhat different mix of habitats than the Cuddo Unit. A Carolina bay comparable in size to Dingle Pond has recently been added to the unit.
Santee NWR, established in 1941, is located in Clarendon County, South Carolina. Of the total 13,000 acres that make up the refuge, only 4,400 acres are owned with the remaining acreage being managed under a lease agreement with the South Carolina Public Service Authority (aka Santee-Cooper). The refuge also manages 10 conservation easements on private lands, totaling 458 acres in Bamberg, Barnwell, Clarendon and Orangeburg counties. Public use opportunities at the refuge include a visitor’s center with educational exhibits, walking trails, an auto tour route, wildlife observation and photography, hunting, and fishing.
The refuge is located on the north shore of Lake Marion, the largest lake in South Carolina. It is a major wintering area for ducks and geese, as well as a nesting and stopover area for neo-tropical migratory birds, raptors, shore birds, and wading birds. Endangered/ threatened species on the refuge include the American alligator and the wood stork. Numerous other species of wildlife are indigenous to this area. The migration ends here, Santee NWR is the southernmost migration point for naturally migrating Canada Geese.
Our facilitator for the trip is Paul Thomas. He is working on the refuge and conducting a herp survey of the refuge units under the supervision of Dr. Eran Kilpatrick at USC Salkehatchie.
We will meet at the visitor’s center at 10:30 and carpool/drive the short distance to the Pine Island Unit. Paul plans to have the center, including its bathrooms and exhibits, open by 10. If you get there early, check out the exhibits or short trail. We’ll start by exploring the trails in the main section of the unit. There is a boat ramp, so you may want to bring a canoe or kayak. Parts of the unit are closed until March, but there is more than enough territory to for SCAN to explore. People who wish to explore the Carolina bay, which is adjacent to the entrance road, can do so in the afternoon before departing for supper. Since there is limited parking, we won’t try to get the whole group there at once. There are no trails, and the bay has a fair amount of water in it. So at least boots and possibly waders would be appropriate. If you want to explore a bay with less bushwhacking, you can stop at the Dingle Pond unit, which is on the road out, and walk the trail and boardwalk there. The parking at this unit is limited, so it is unlikely that SCAN will have a trip specifically to Dingle Pond in the future. We will have dinner at the Lone Star BBQ in Santee. The address is 2212 State Park Road, Santee SC 29142.
Websites:
These websites have additional information, including nice maps. The Santee NWR site has lists for birds, mammals, and herps.
Santee National Wildlife Refuge: http://www.fws.gov/santee/
Lone Star Barbeque: http://www.lonestarbbq.net/
Directions to Santee NWR:
These directions are from the refuge website. Note that after you get off theI-95 at exit 102, you turn right on 15/301. [If you turn left, you end up in the lake.] The visitor’s center will then be a turn to the left. The visitor’s center address is 2125 Fort Watson Road, Summerton, SC 29148.
From I-95 (North or South): Take Hwy. 15/301 exit on North side of Lake Marion (exit 102).
From I-26 East (Charleston): approximately 1 hour: Take I-26 to I-95. Take I-95 North until you reach exit 102 (Hwy 15/301).
From I-26 West (Columbia): approximately 1 hour: Take I-26 to 301 East (towards Santee). Go approximately 16 miles to Santee, where 301 will turn onto I-95 North. Take I-95 North for approximately 4 miles to exit 102.
From Hwy. 15/301: Follow signs to visitor Center.